Image copyrightFamily photo/Dyfed-Powys PoliceImage caption
Mark Bridger was jailed for life for the murder of five-year-old April Jones

Money collected by a town council after the murder of April Jones was outside its powers and should not have happened, an audit report has said.

Machynlleth Town Council banked £71,663 of public money before transferring it to April's fund - something it did not have the authority to do.

Auditor BDO said money offered by the public should have been refused.

The council said it was holding a meeting on 24 August to discuss the report's recommendations.

Y Plas, where the council is based in Machynlleth, became a hub for the search for April in October 2012, with people wanting to donate money.

The report said: "The council had no power to collect this money or to establish a bank account for its retention, but ultimately they did not intend to collect the money, they were just given it by the public.

"When people came into the office and gave them money they should not have accepted the money."

Image copyrightWales News ServiceImage caption
Mark Bridger's house, where he is believed to have killed April, was demolished in November 2014